Ixrnonucriox

Te surface water resources potential in India is esti-

mated to be around 1,869 km
3
. Due to topographical
constraints and spatio-temporal variations in resources,
it is estimated that only about 1,123 km
3
, (690 km
3

from surface water and 433 km
3
from groundwater)
(Central Water Commission [CWC] 2010), can be
used. According to the Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion (FAO), United Nations, the per capita availability
of less than 2,000 m
3
/year is dened as a water-stressed
condition, and the per capita availability below 1,000
m
3
/year is termed as a water-scarce condition. Due to a
3-fold increase in population during 19512010, the
per capita availability of water in the country as a whole
decreased from 5,177 m
3
/year in 1951 to 1,588 m
3
/year
in 2010 (CWC 2010). Tis suggests that at a macro
level, India is in a water-stressed state. Te story at the
local/regional level is far starker. Increasing shortages are
felt at local levels which can spread to the regional level
as the population continues to grow. India is divided
into 20 river basins. Out of these, 14 basins are in
a water-stressed condition (of which 10 are water-
stressed, Table 1.1). Te disparity among river basins is
wide. Te Brahmaputra-Barak basin has a total
water availability of 11,782 m
3
/per person. On the
other hand in river basins, such as Sabarmati and east
A River Basin Perspective of
Water Resources and Cha||enges
Anju Gaur and Priyanie Amerasinghe

1
owing rivers (Pennar and Kanyakumari), the availabil-
ity of water is as low as 260 m
3
per person per year
(Table 1.1).
Te stress on water resources (both surface and
groundwater) is increasing rapidly due to rising
demands of various users and the deteriorating quality
of water. In many regions in India the extraction of
groundwater is more than the recharge (Chapter 7).
Te pollution of water resources caused by discharge
of untreated municipal sewage and industrial e uents
in rivers and the sea, and agro-chemicals penetration in
groundwater has further exacerbated the availability of
good quality water.
In short, the countrys fragile resources are stressed
and are depleting fast, both in quantity and quality.
Preserving the quality of water and managing multiple
demands on it require an integrated water management
strategy. Te problem, however, is that water is a state
subject and its management is spread across multiple
organizations with hardly any coordination. Tis has
posed di culties in streamlining management issues.
Another challenge in the management of water is that
state boundaries do not coincide with the geographical
boundary of the resource. Tough the National Water
Policy, 2002 recognizes that river basins should be the

Te authors are thankful to Jai Mansukhani for his help in preparing the database. Te views expressed in this chapter are those
of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the o cial position of the World Bank.
T
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.
A River Basin Perspective of Water Resources and Challenges 5
basic hydrological unit for integrated planning and
development of water resources, this has not happened
so far.
Tis chapter presents an overview of the state of
water resources in India. Tough the strategies and
policies to address various issues aecting the sector are
discussed in later chapters, key strategic issues to bridge
the gap between increasing demand and supply at the
basin level are presented in this chapter.
Srarus ov Warrn Rrsouncrs
Avaiianiiirs ix Ixnia
Te system of surface water resource in India comprises
of 20 major river basins. Seven rivers and their tributaries
feed these river basins (Figure 1.1). Of these 20 river
basins, 13 are large comprising an aggregate catchment
area of 2.6 million square km (Table 1.1). Tese 13
major river basins together are spread over about 81
per cent of the geographical area of the country. Tere
are, however, substantial challenges and variations that
these river basins face in their water availability.
Tese river basins depend on precipitation for water.
Rainfall being the major component of precipitation
is highly seasonal as most of the rain is concentrated
during the monsoon season which lasts over 45
months (June to September/October). Further, there
are huge geographical variations in the rainfall across
the country. Te western parts of Rajasthan get merely
Fiounr 1.1 Major River Basins in India
Source: Adapted from CWC (2010).
Area of inland
drainage in Rajasthan
WFR of Kucha & Saurashtra
including Luni
WFR from
Tapi to Tadri
Sabarmati
Narmada
Mahi
Krishna
Tapi
Godavari
WFR from
Tadri to Kanyakumari
Pennar
Cauvery
EFR between
Pennar & Kanyakumari
EFR between
Mahanadi & Pennar
Brahmani & Baitrani
Mahanadi
Subernarekha
Minor rivers draining
into Myanmar & Bangladesh
Barai
Brahmaputra
Ganga
Indus
Ladakah and not draining into Indus
6 India Infrastructure Report 2011
100 mm of rain during the year, while Cherrapunji in
Meghalaya gets yearly rainfall of 11,000 mm. Hence,
the annual average surface water that is available in the
river basins varies a lot. Table 1.1 presents the estimated
average annual surface water potential across various
river basins.
Tere are huge variations in the extent of catch-
ment areas of river basins and their surface water
potential. Te geographical coverage of the Ganga
and Brahamputra-Barak river basins is the largest and
covers about 34 per cent of the country served by all
river basins. Te Ganga and Brahamputra-Barak river
basins account for 60 per cent of the average annual
water resources potential. However, due to topographi-
cal constraints and spatio-temporal variability of the
availability of water only 48 per cent of the total water
potential in the Ganga basin and 4 per cent of the total
water potential in the Brahmaputra basin is utilized.
On the other hand, three river basins in southern
India (Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery) together rep-
resent 21 per cent area of the country area while they
account for only 11 per cent of the surface water.
Table 1.1 also presents information on basin-wise
utilizable surface water. Te utilizable surface water
as a percentage of the total water resource poten-
tial is far higher for southern river basins, such as
Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Pennar, and east owing
rivers between Pennar and Kanyakumari river basins,
than others. In the Pennar, Kanyakumari, and Tapi
river basins, nearly all the water resource potential is
utilizable. However, there is huge potential to tap the
water resource in other river basins.
Surface Water Deve|opment through Storage
In order to address spatial and temporal variations
across river basins and to increase water availability,
water storage capacities have been developed along the
rivers to meet the demand for water throughout the
year. Surface water storages are categorized as major
(live storage >10 km
3
), medium (210 km
3
), and minor
projects (or irrigation tanks with culturable command
area <2,000 ha). Te total live storage in major and
medium projects is 221 km
3
(from completed projects),
which contributes 32 per cent to the total utilizable
surface water. In addition, the storage capacity of 191
km
3
is either under construction or is being considered
for development. Estimated total storage capacity of
completed, ongoing, and contemplated projects, would
be 412 km
3
which will take the total utilizable surface
water to 881 km
3
from the present level of 690 km
3
for
all river basins taken together.
Te Krishna basin leads in terms of existing stor-
age capacity (41.80 km
3
), followed by the Godavari
(25.12 km
3
), and Narmada basins (16.98 km
3
). In
the southern river basins, where availability of water
resource is a problem, including Krishna, Godavari,
Cauvery, and west owing rivers, water harvesting is
prevalent through tanks. Indiscriminate increase in
storage, however, aects the natural regenerative capac-
ity of rivers. Certain amount of river ow is therefore
necessary. In the Krishna basin, the surge in storage
development since the 1960s resulted in a drastic
reduction in river discharge and outow into the sea
from an average annual ow of 57.22 km
3
during
195060 to 24.94 km
3
during 19952005 (Gaur et al.
2007). Te actual surface water usage during a normal
year in the basin is 117 per cent of the storage capacity
in the basin. Te existing storage capacity in the west
owing rivers of Kutch, Saurashtra including Luni,
Narmad, Brahmani, and Baitarni exceeds 50 per cent
of their respective average annual natural ows. As a
consequence, the overall ows reaching the sea from
these rivers have reduced drastically. On the other
hand, water rich basins, such as Brahmaputra and Barak
have very low storage capacity, just about 9 per cent of
the annual natural ow. In terms of planned storage
capacity, the southern river basin of Pennar, which faces
immense water shortages, leads in terms of planned
storage development followed by the Tapi basin. Tis
additional storage will, however, reduce the average
annual natural ow of rivers in these basins by more
than 70 per cent. On the one hand while it is necessary
to tap the river ow by increasing storage capacity, it is
important to balance the new development of storage
in a way that the regenerative capacity of the river is
not aected.
Srarus ov Gnouxnwarrn
Te potential groundwater resource has two compo-
nentsstatic (10,812 km
3
) and dynamic reserves (433
km
3
). Although static reserves are high, they cannot
be exploited except in an emergency as they are non-
replenishable. Only the usage of dynamic reserves,
which are replenished seasonally, is permitted (Ministry
A River Basin Perspective of Water Resources and Challenges 7
of Water Resources 2002). Te zone of uctuation for
the dynamic resource is about 450 m below the ground
level in the alluvium soil aquifer in the Indo-Gangetic
Valley, 100150 m in the inland river basin, and 200
m in hard rock aquifers. Te major source for dynamic
recharge is rainfall, which contributes about 67 per cent
of the recharge. Te rest of the groundwater recharge
happens from non-rainfall sources, such as leaky canals,
tanks, and local water bodies (Central Ground Water
Board 2004).
Table 1.1 gives the estimated replenishable ground-
water resource by river basins. Tough a detailed
discussion on groundwater is presented in Chapter
7, the key points that emerge from the distribution
of groundwater across the country are discussed here.
Nearly half of the replenishable groundwater resource is
located in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak river basins.
Te Indus river basin accounts for another 25 per cent
of the replenishable groundwater resource. Of the total
utilizable water, groundwater comprise about a third
except in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak, where it is about
42 per cent, and in Subernarekha, Brahmani, Baitarni,
Mahanadi, and Narmada where it is 25 per cent or
less. Unlike the availability of surface water, which is
highly seasonal, groundwater is a steady source of water
throughout the year. Of the total storage of water that is
available throughout the year (comprising surface water
storage plus the replenishable groundwater resource),
groundwater constitutes nearly 50 per cent, though
there are inequalities across river basins. In the Ganga
river basin, the share of groundwater in the total water
storage is about 64 per cent. In basins like Krishna,
Mahanadi, Subernarekha, and Narmada the share is
35 per cent or less.
Groundwater Resources Deve|opment
At the national level, the net annual groundwater draft
is about 231 km
3
which is 58 per cent of the dynamic
reserves. Nearly 92 per cent of the groundwater draft
is used for irrigation while the remaining is used for
domestic and industrial use.
Te groundwater resource has been exploited to
the extent that many regions in the country are facing
severe problems (Chapter 7). Te overexploitation of
groundwater has resulted in a number of problems, such
as sea water ingression in coastal areas and groundwater
pollution in dierent parts of the country.
Te challenges for further development of ground-
water systems are two-fold: (i) how to restrain ground-
water use to sustainable levels in overexploited regions?
and (ii) how to develop the large untapped groundwater
potential, which exists in eastern India? Te willing-
ness to control the overexploitation of the groundwater
resource by farmers by using e cient irrigation systems
has remained weak. Subsidized electricity supply in
most regions has further exacerbated the overexploita-
tion of groundwater.
Warrn Drxaxn ar rnr Rivrn
Basix Lrvri
Te demand for water will grow from 656 km
3
in 2010
to 1069 km
3
by 2050 (Tatte et al. 2009). Irrigation
is the largest consumer of water, which accounted
for 85 per cent of the water demand in 2010 (Table
1.2), followed by domestic use (6 per cent), energy
development (3 per cent), and industries (6 per cent).
Te demand for water from non-irrigation sectors will
grow rapidly over the next 40 years. Te demand for
water in the domestic sector will grow 2.6 times, energy
3.7 times, and industry 2.2 times during 201050
(Tatte et al. 2009).
Te National Commission on Integrated Water
Resources Development (NCIWRD) has estimated the
multi-sector uses within basins (Table 1.3). Following
the National Water Policy, 2002 criteria for allocation,
priority was accorded to domestic use, followed by
irrigation, industries, and other uses. For agriculture,
NCIWRD assumed that the e ciency of surface irriga-
tion systems would increase to 60 per cent from the
present level of 3540 per cent. Te estimates indicate
that 9 out of the 20 river basins do not have su cient
water for industry or other uses. Based on the avail-
ability of water according to priority of use, river basins
like Indus and Sabarmati did not have any residual
water left for industrial and other uses even in 2010. Te
situation will be worse in 2050 when Ganga and the
basin fed by the east owing rivers Mahanadi and
Pennar will also face severe water availability problems.
Estimates for 2010 indicate that at the basin level, d
mestic water accounted for 9 to 46 per cent of the total
water demand (based on Table 1.3). Even in water rich
basins, such as the Barak, domestic water constitutes the
major demand for water. Due to low storage capacity
the availability for other uses cannot be enhanced. By
8 India Infrastructure Report 2011
Tanir 1.2 Available Water Resources in India and Demand Projections by 2025 and 2050
Water Resources Year
2010 2025 2050
Estimated annual precipitation (including snowfall) (km
3
) 4000
Average annual potential in rivers, (km
3
) 1869
Estimated utilizable water (km
3
) 1123 1379
Surface (km
3
) 690 910
Ground (km
3
) 433 469
Existing surface storage (km
3
) 214 412 412
Population (million) 1150 1394 1750
Per capita actual water availability (m
3
) 977 806 685
Per capita actual storage (m
3
)

186 296 235
Irrigated area SW (M ha) 87 139 175
Water demand

(km
3
)
Domestic 43 62 111
Irrigation 557 611 807
Industry 37 67 81
Energy 19 33 70
Total 656 773 1069
Water regeneration (Mega Litre/day) 45133 68123 132253
(km
3
) 16 25 48
Source: Central Water Commission,

Adapted from Tatte et al. (2009).

2050, domestic water will account for 1255 per cent
of the total water demand mainly due to an increase in
population. Tree more river basins of Ganga, Krishna,
and Subernarekha will be added to the list of water scarce
basins, taking the number of water-scarce basins to 12
by 2025. By 2050, the Indus basin may also become
water-scarce while the Godavari basin may come closer
to the water-scarce level.
By 2050 the level of water demand will reach closer
to the utilizable level. Harnessing all of the 690 km
3

of utilizable surface water will be possible only if match-
ing storage is built. As shown in Table 1.2, by 2025
the use of recycled water may be able to partially serve
a basins water demand through water conservation
schemes but that will add only a tiny component to
the overall water availability. Adopting various mea-
sures for exploring and tapping the remaining water
resources, in addition to innovative water conserva-
tion and management techniques, would be necessary.
Central Ground Water Board has estimated that it is
possible to increase the groundwater availability by
about 36 km
3
, by taking up rainwater harvesting and
articial recharge over an area of 45 M ha utilizing
surplus monsoon run-o. Trans-basin transfer of water,
if taken to the full extent could further increase the uti-
lizable quantity by approximately 220 km
3
(Planning
Commission 2008).
Cnaiirxors von Warrn Rrsouncr
Avaiianiiirs, Maxaorxrxr, axn
Susraixaniiirs
Tere are a number of externalities associated with
the water resource that aect its availability, manage-
ment, and sustainability. Externalities, such as oods
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10 India Infrastructure Report 2011
and droughts caused by extreme climatic factors, aect
the livelihood and economy of a region. Te quality of
water and trans-boundary issues have an impact on the
availability of this resource for consumption.
Extreme C|imate Factors: F|ood
and Drought
Floods and droughts aect vast areas of the country
that transcend geographical boundaries of states.
One-sixth of the geographical area of the country
(about 40 M ha) is drought-prone. Similarly, oods
aect around 7.5 M ha of land each year. Despite such
an impact of these calamities, experience in managing
their impact has been poor. Managing the impact of
droughts as well as oods requires a system of data col-
lection, transmission, forecasting, and dissemination
through an early warning system. However, a majority
of the ood warning systems in India are not timely,
primarily due to poor transmission. Delays cause enor-
mous damage to property and lives every year. More-
over, models that are used for ood forecasting and
its inuence zones are not rigorous enough due to lack
of integration of hydrology and the weather forecasting
systems.
Te lead time for ood forecasting can be improved
through the use of hydraulic and hydrologic models
which are linked to the weather forecasting system,
the real time data acquisition system, and the reservoir
operation system. It is possible to improve the current
forecasting methods by using satellite based information
for better estimates of rainfall and snowmelt. Attempts
are being made to modernize site-specic forecasting
systems with satellite based telemetry, which will
improve overall basin-wise forecasting.
Water Qua|ity
Poor water quality will further strain the availability
of freshwater for various uses. Te quality of water has
become a serious problem in river basins. About 70 per
cent of the surface water resources and large propor-
tions of groundwater reserves have been contaminated
due to indiscriminate discharge of wastewater from the
industry, agriculture, and households sectors which
contain biological as well as toxic organic and inorganic
pollutants.
Water pollution across river basins varies in severity
depending on the degree of urban development, agri-
cultural and industrial practices, and systems for
collecting and treating wastewater. Te Central Pollu-
tion Control Board (CPCB) has identied some of the
polluted river stretches and possible sources of pollution
(Table 1.4).
Most of the polluted stretches of rivers are located
in and around large urban areas. Municipal sewage
contributes about 75 per cent and industrial pollution
accounts for the rest of the point source pollution.
Class-I and Class-II cities together generate an estimated
38,254 MLD of sewage (CPCB 2009). Te treatment
capacity of 11,787 MLD in 2009 was far behind the
requirements. By 2050, the sewage generation from
Class-I, II cities will increase by three-and-a-half times
to 132,253 MLD, which will pose serious problems if
concerted eorts to add wastewater treatment capacity
are not undertaken.
Groundwater is also polluted due to point and non-
point source pollution. In some areas, the groundwater
is not of the desired quality due to geogenic elements.
For example, occurrence of high uoride content has
been reported in 13 states. Other pollutants, such as
arsenic in West Bengal, and iron in the north-eastern
states, Orissa, and other parts of the country have
also been reported. In the canal irrigated land of
Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, groundwater is
aected due to salinization (the aected area comprises
over 193,000 km
2
of land) (Tatte et al. 2009).
Eorts were made in the past to clean water resources
through government intervention. Te Ganga Action
Plan implemented under the National River Conserva-
tion Plan (NRCP1995/96) covers pollution abate-
ment activities in 34 rivers and 160 towns in 20 states.
Major interventions under the plan include intercep-
tion and diversion of sewage into networked channels,
construction of sewage treatment plants (STPs), low
cost sanitation works, and river front development
activities. Pollution abatement plans have been adopted
for some rivers for implementation through a designated
authority for the purpose (for example, the National
Ganga River Basin Authority in 2009), where holistic
approaches are being utilized. Tough other formal or
informal authorities are being set up for river pollution
abatement activities, synergy between regulatory and
implementing authorities is necessary for future water
development programmes.
A River Basin Perspective of Water Resources and Challenges 11
Trans-boundary Water Issues: Internationa| and
Inter-state Scenarios
From a river basin perspective, water resource develop-
ment and management has to address trans-boundary
water allocation issues. Since water management is
done through sector-wise administration by a number
of government entities spread over 11 Central minis-
tries, state governments, and local bodies water politics,
rights, and conicts are commonplace (discussed in
detail in Chapters 3 and 4). Hence, the political
economy drives the water agenda nationally and inter-
nationally.
Tanir 1.4 Pollution in Selected Stretches of Rivers Basins
S. No. Name of the river basin Polluted Stretch Existing Critical Possible Causes of Pollution
Class* Parameters
1 Indus Satluj: Downstream of D/E BOD, DO Domestic from Ludhiana and
(up to the border) Ludhiana to Harike Jalandhar, and industrial from
hosieries, tanneries,
electroplating, and engineering
Satluj: Downstream D/E Ammonia Waste from fertilizer, cholarlkali
of Nangal mills from Nangal
2 Ganga Chambal River: Downstream D/E BOD, DO Domestic and industrial
of Nagda and Kota
Gomti: Downstream of D/E BOD, DO, Domestic and industrial
Lucknow Coliform from distilleries
Hindon: Sahranpur to D DO, BOD, Domestic and industrial
conuence with Yamuna Toxicity
Kali: Downstream of D/E BOD, Domestic and industrial
Modinagar to conuence Coliform
with Ganga
Yamuna: Delhi conuence D/E Domestic and industrial waste
with Chambal from Delhi, Mathura, and Agra
2.1 Brahmaputra, Downstream of Dhanbad D/E BOD, Industrial pollution from
Barak, others Toxicity Dhanbad, Asansol, Haldia, and
Brunpur
3 Godavari Downstream of Nasik, BOD Industrial waste from sugar
Nanded industries, distilleries, and food
processing industries
4 Krishna Karad to Sangli D/E BOD Industrial waste from sugar
industries and distilleries
5 Subernarekha Hatia Dam to Bharagora D/E Ammonia Domestic and industrial from
Ranchi and Jamshedpur
6 Sabarmati Starting from u/s of E BOD, DO, Domestic and industrial
Ahmedabad to Vautha Coliform from Ahmedabad
through Sabarmati Ashram
Source: Central Pollution Control Board and Jain et al. (2007).
Notes: *As per CPCB ( http://cpcb.nic.in/data2005.php last accessed on 20 September 2011) the existing classes for water quality are
A (good ) to E (very bad):
D is best suited for wildlife and sheries (pH 6.58.5, Dissolved Oxygen > 4 mg/l, Free Ammonia < 1.2)
E is best suited for irrigation and controlled waste disposal (pH 66.5, EC < 2250 Mmhos/cm, SAR < 26 Boron < 2 mg/l).
12 India Infrastructure Report 2011
Out of the 20 river basins, the two largestthe
Indus and the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Barak basins are
international river basins and the management of water
resources is, therefore, driven by agreements or treaties
between riparian countries. Te remaining basins are
mostly inter-state basins and a majority of them have
commissions or boards to manage water issues. Accord-
ing to the Indian Constitution, water is a state subject
and the role of the centre is limited only to the extent
of managing the water resource in case inter-state river
water disputes arise (Tatte et al. 2009). It may seem
that the states have absolute rights over rivers and lakes
but the Indian Easement Act, 1882 allows other users
to claim prescriptive rights to the waters if customary
usage of water can be established for a period of 20
years or more (Dsouza 2006). In that sense, there are
multiple rights holdersstates, sectors, individuals,
and communitieswho hold various types of water
rights. Multiplicity of rights poses problems for an in-
tegrated management of the water resource and hence
its equitable availability. Rights related to water need an
appropriate framework (this aspect has been discussed
in Chapter 5) to reduce water conicts between states,
sectors, and people.
Programmes and Institutions Invo|ved
in the Sector
Growing demand across competing sectors, increasing
occurrence of droughts, declining water quality, ex-
treme weather conditions, inter-state river disputes,
and inadequate institutional reforms and enforcement
are some of the problems that the water sector in
India faces today. Te major areas that need attention
are: management of existing water assets (used
for irrigation and water supply systems) and water
resources together with water sector institutional
reforms. Towards this end, the Government of India
has initiated a number of programmes and projects in-
cluding the Accelerated Irrigation Benets Programme,
Hydrology Projects II, setting up of a Water Quality
Assessment Authority, Command Area Development
and Water Management Programme, National Project
for Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bod-
ies, Flood Management, and setting up of River Basin
Organizations. In addition, water resources restructur-
ing projects are on in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil
Nadu which are aimed at modernizing irrigation
systems. Tese programmes aim at a dressing the
infrastructure gaps that exist and managing the
water resource to enhance its quantity, quality, and
sustainability.
Despite the conceptualization of a number of
programmes, eective implementation has been chal-
lenging due to dierent priorities of implementing
agencies, poor coordination among implementing
departments, and low level of monitoring mechanisms.
For example, from a functional point of view, the
responsibility for ensuring adequate availability of
water for agricultural use is divided among the Ministry
of Water Resources (MoWR), which is responsible for
major, medium, and minor irrigation programmes, the
Department of Land Resources which is responsible
for watershed management, the Department of Rural
Development which is responsible for the Mahatma
Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(MGNREGA) which deals with water conservation
issues, and the Department of Agriculture which
addresses issues associated with water use e ciency
(Figure 1.2). Requirements of rural drinking water,
which are largely met through groundwater sources,
are in the functional domain of the Department of
Drinking Water Supply (DDWS) within the Ministry
of Rural Development (MoRD). Te development and
management of groundwater involves other players
and schemes that lie outside the purview of DDWS.
Similarly, in the urban context, the Ministry of Urban
Development (MoUD), states and its various depart-
ments and urban local bodies (ULBs), are involved in
the supply of water within cities. In order to make these
institutional arrangements eective, proper planning,
convergence of various agencies, site-specic design,
and monitoring using modern techniques, such as
remote sensing have to be in place.
Given that water availability in India will be under
tremendous stress in the future and many river basins
will face severe water shortages rising demand and
the deteriorating quality of water needs policies and
strategies that manage the resource holistically.
Poiicirs axn Srnarroirs
While the policies and strategies for the water sector
and the institutional arrangements to deliver them
have been discussed at length in various chapters in this
A River Basin Perspective of Water Resources and Challenges 13
Catchment
Forest Management
Department of Forest
and Environment
Rainfed management, watershed development
Department of Agriculture, Rural Development,
Land Resources
Reservoir
Reservoir operation and
irrigation service delivery
Water Res. Dept.
Department of Tourism
Department Fisheries
Hydropower & thermal
power generation
Electricity Department
Water Supply
Domestic water Supply
and Sanitation
Rural development, Urban Dept.
Industries
Industrial Department
Irrigation System
Water Res. Dept., &
Water users associations
On Farm Water Management
Water use efficiency
Irrigation Department,
Command area
Development Authority,
Department of Agriculture
Wells and pump
installation Irrigation,
Agricultural
departments
and private
Maintenance of small
water bodies and channels
Rural Development through
local bodies Panchayat
(MGNREGA programme), etc.
Recharge structures
Dept. of
Agricultural
Rural (local
organizations), NGOs
Recyled Water
Wastewater treatment
Urban, Industrial Dept.
Reuse of recycled water Industries,
farmers, local organizations
Environmental flows
Ministry of Environment
Central Agencies
Indian Meteorological Department, Ministry of Water Resources (Central Water Commission,
Central Groundwater Board), Central Pollution Control Board, Department of Space
Fiounr 1.2 Existing Multi-disciplinary Approach for Water Resource Management in A River Basin
Source: Authors own.
volume, a brief review of select policies and strategies is
presented here.
Integrated Water Resources Management and
River Basin Organization
In order to cater to multi-sectoral water demands and
an optimum and judicious utilization of the available
land and water resource, integrated water resource
management (IWRM) is necessary. A basin authority,
such as a river basin organization (RBO) is best
suited to implement the principles of IWRM and for
planning inter-state water allocation. Te functions
of an RBO should include assessing water availability,
preparing comprehensive plans for the operational
development of surface and groundwater systems, and
promoting measures for prevention of water logging,
water conservation, and ensuring water quality. Te
need for RBOs for inter-state water allocation and
decision-making has been extensively discussed at the
government, non-government, and political levels
in the country. However, with the exception of the
Brahmaputra and Barak Board and the Betwa River
14 India Infrastructure Report 2011
Box 1.1
Te Brahmaputra Board
Te Brahmaputra-Barak Basin
One of the largest rivers in the world with a specic yield of 85 ha m/km
2
or 850 millimetre next to the Amazon river
(87 ha m/km
2
or 870 millimetre).
Te basin extends over an area of 592,000 km
2
and falls in Tibet, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
Te seven riparian states are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Te system serves a population of 50 million in India.
Out of the total water potential of 585 km
3
within India, only 42 km
3
is available for benecial use due to topographical
constraints.
Due to high yield, the basin is highly prone to oods with very low storage capacity of 2.3 km
3
. Almost 50 km
3
of storage
is under construction or consideration for development.
In 1980, the Brahmaputra Board was set up under the Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980 to prepare a master plan for the
control of oods in the Brahmaputra Valley giving due regard to the overall development and utilization of the water
resources.
Institutions involved in the Brahmaputra Barak Basin are the board, state representatives, the Central Water Commission,
Central Electrical Authority, Geological Survey of India, and the Indian Meteorological Department.
Main Functions
Te Board became eective in 1982. Its main functions are:
Preparing a plan for ood control and utilization of water resources for various uses.
Preparing a detailed report and estimates for proposed projects.
Construction, maintenance, and operation of multi-purpose projects with the approval of the central government.
Source: Brahmaputra Board. Available at: http://brahmaputraboard.gov.in/organisation.htm
Board, such basin authorities have not been realized.
Tese boards were set up by the MoWR in 1980 for
planning and for the integrated implementation of
measures for the control of oods and bank erosion
in the Brahmaputra Valley.
1
A few basin authorities,
such as the Narmada Control Authority and the Upper
Yamuna River Board are involved in the operation of the
water system, but are not considered full-edged basin
authorities. While the Brahmaputra and Barak boards
have comprehensive functions encompassing a whole
range of inter-state and basin management functions,
other river basin authorities, such as the Narmada
Control Authority have limited functions relating only
to the construction of a project. Tese boards were set
up at the initiative of MoWR with not much support
from states causing ine ciencies in their operations. If
such boards are created with the support of the state,
their functions will become more eective (see Box 1.1
for details about the Brahmaputra Board).
Recently, the Krishna Water Distribution Tribunal
II suggested that a Krishna Basin Authority should be
created along the lines of the Murray-Darling Basin
Authority in Australia for the integrated management
of the water resource (see Box 1.2).
2
Te authority is
proposed to be constituted by the Government of
India and will be headed by a panel of experts repre-
senting environment, irrigation, agriculture, ground-
water, geology, health, and ecology to protect the river
basin area for its long-term sustainable productivity
and ecology.
Nationa| Water Po|icy
Te National Water Policy (NWP) was rst formulated
and adopted in September 1987 and later updated in
2002. It covers a comprehensive plan for India, and
if adopted at a basin level, it can add value to water
development programmes. We now discuss some of the
highlights of this policy.
1
Brahmaputra Board. Available at: http://brahmaputraboard.gov.in/organisation.htm last accessed on 20 September 2011.
2
MurrayDarling Basin Authority. Available at: http://www.mdba.gov.au/last accessed on 20 September 2011.
A River Basin Perspective of Water Resources and Challenges 15
Information Systems
National Water Policy supports the development of a
standardized national information system. MoWRs
eorts towards developing a Water Resources Informa-
tion System (WRIS), are a welcome development where
central and state level information can be integrated
to look at water issues from a river basin perspective.
Eorts are being made under the Hydrology Project
II to standardize databases and data are being used for
proper planning and management practices. Te infor-
mation system can be further modernized with the use
of satellite based telemetry and Light Detection and
Ranging (LIDAR) based surveys. Tough the use of
satellite based telemetry and LIDAR is expensive, their
benets would outweigh the costs.
Water Resources P|anning
NWP recognizes a drainage basin as the basic unit of
planning, development, and management of the water
resource and calls for appropriate measures to optimize
the utilization of the water resource. Under Hydrology
Project II, and other projects, eorts are being made to
develop a decision support system for certain aspects
within sub-basins in the states.
Box 1.2
Te Murray-Dar|ing Basin Authority
Te Murray-Darling Basin
Possesses 23 river valleys covering 1 million square km, covering 14 per cent of Australia.
Te riparian ve states and territories are New South Wales, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, and
South Australia.
Provides one-third of Australias food supply. It serves a population of 2 million inside the basin and 1.2 million outside the
basin.
Te total average annual rainfall in the basin is 5,306 km
3
: 94 per cent evaporates or transpires through plants, and
2 per cent drains into the ground, leaving only 4 per cent as runo.
Te total volume of water storage capacity in the basin is around 350 km
3
.
First Murray-Darling Basin Commission was established in January 1988 under the Murray-Darling Basin Agreement to
e ciently manage and equitably distribute River Murray water resources.
Te Water Amendment Act, 2008 (amendment to the Water Act, 2007) was introduced to transfer authority from the
Murray-Darling Basin Commission to the Murray-Darling Basin Authority (MDBA), creating an independent, expert-
based body that would manage the Basin holistically for the rst time.
Institutions involved are MDBA, basin states, the Australian Government Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population, and Communities.
Main Roles and Responsibilities
Since 2008, MDBA has been planning the integrated management of water resources of the Murray-Darling Basin. Te
Murray-Darling Basin Authority is an integral element of the Commonwealth Governments programme Water for the
Future which has four priorities: (i) tackling climate change, (ii) supporting healthy rivers, (iii) using water wisely, and
(iv) securing water supplies.
In addition to the commissions former functions, the Authoritys role includes:
Preparing the Basin plan for adoption by the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and
Communities.
Implementing and enforcing the Basin plan.
Advising the minister on the accreditation of state water resource plans.
Developing a water rights information service which facilitates water trading across the Murray-Darling Basin.
Measuring and monitoring water resources in the Basin.
Gathering information and undertaking research.
Educating and engaging the community in the management of the Basins resources.
Source: MurrayDarling Basin Authority. Available at: http://www.mdba.gov.au/
16 India Infrastructure Report 2011
Groundwater Deve|opment
Te development of groundwater is aected by policies
and strategies from multiple sectors, including power
and agriculture. Improved access to electricity in the
eastern parts of India and incentives that have moti-
vated head enders in canal irrigated area to use ground-
water in place of canal water have contributed to
substantial groundwater development, leading to over-
exploitation of groundwater in many regions. Some
states, such as Gujarat, are implementing regulations to
counter the overexploitation of groundwater.
A typical way by which overexploitation is addressed
is by constructing groundwater recharge structures.
However, this strategy needs careful evaluation. If
overexploited areas in the upstream are supplemented
with recharge structures, it may aect water availability
(even for priority use, such as drinking) in the down-
stream projects. In closed or water-stressed river basins,
water recharge structures should be implemented only
after a proper analysis of the upstream and downstream
implications and their eectiveness, particularly in
southern India where inltration potential for ground-
water recharge is low.
Participatory Approaches to Water Resources
Management
NWP recognizes the need for legal and institutional
changes at various levels and participatory water re-
source management. Some reforms like establishing
water users associations (WUAs) have been undertaken
but their outcomes appear to be highly variable across
the states (see Chapter 9). WUAs will need to be
further strengthened and empowered. Tis may even
require changes in the legislature. Currently, a majority
of water-related schemes are introduced through gram
panchayats and not WUAs. Clarity of roles and respon-
sibilities between these two local bodies will strengthen
implementation processes. Apart from WUAs for canal
irrigation, water user groups of water bodies, such as
tanks and groundwater also need appropriate policy
frameworks for a more holistic management of water
development processes within the basins.
Irrigation Projects
Managing irrigation water is necessary to conserve
water in a sector that constitutes 85 per cent of the
water demand and a large part of this demand is due
to ine cient use. Tere are good examples of well-run
irrigation projects. A case in point is the Parambikulam-
Aliyar Project (PAP) in Tamil Nadu. Tis project has a
planned operation system which encompasses a system
of rotation of alternate canal system for alternate
seasons, with opportunities for conjunctive use, xed
schedule, a gravity-based pipe conveyance system, and
a drip irrigation system.
Water Qua|ity
Water quality has become a major concern from a
river basin perspective as upstream pollution has a
downstream impact. Greater emphasis on the use
of clean technologies and adopting context-specic
technological options at dierent points along the waste
streams is the way forward. In order to achieve this,
from a regulation perspective, economic instruments
(taxes and incentives), which are aimed at resource
conservation, waste minimization, and reuse of wastes,
would be necessary.
Monitoring of Projects
Ongoing and outcome monitoring is the key to mea-
suring the success of projects and should be empha-
sized in all water development programmes. Modern
technologies, such as management information systems
to monitor the progress in implementation, mobile
based technology, a global positioning system (GPS)
based cameras, and satellite based imageries should
be promoted to monitor the impact on land use. Te
reliability of data and quick assessment ability can help
in good decision-making which is based on evidence.
Private Sector Participation
Although public-private partnerships (PPPs) for
developing the water resource have been promulgated,
the outcomes have not been as expected. Tis may be
due to the fact that irrigation projects require large
capital investments and given the low water charges,
these may not appeal to a private investor (discussed in
Chapter 14). An approach for promoting PPPs could
be initiating collaboration by outsourcing services,
such as irrigation system operations and maintenance,
implementing e cient water management techniques,
and agricultural extension projects with agreed output
criteria for improved e ciency of the systems that
clearly dene irrigated areas and crop productivity.
A River Basin Perspective of Water Resources and Challenges 17
Tese projects could be of a small size. An appropriate
unit for the size is the command area, which can be
easily monitored.
Research and Deve|opment
Research and development oers an array of tools and
techniques for water resource modelling on a basin
scale (discussed in Chapter 2). Opportunities that
are available for developing models suitable for India
with national and international collaboration should
be explored as sophisticated modelling at a hydro-
logical unit is necessary for integrated water resource
management.
Coxciusiox
Given that India is likely to face severe water shortages
in the future, measures to tap the water resource with
prudent conservation measures will be required. Water
shortages are likely to be exacerbated in some basins
more than in the others due to pressures of demand,
inadequate storage, deteriorating water quality, and
rising disputes in inter-state water allocation.
Integrated water management strategies that look
at water in a holistic manner are required. In its pres-
ent state of governance, water is managed by various
local, state, and central agencies. It is necessary to
re-look at the management of this vital resource. Te
natural boundary of surface water is its hydrological
boundarythe river basin. Tere are tremendous
opportunities for improving water availability and se-
curity from a basin perspective, provided the resource
is managed in a holistic and integrated manner at this
level. To achieve integrated water resource manage-
ment, administrative set ups, such RBOs consisting
of multi-disciplinary units, are required for planning
and implementation. Te National Water Policy,
2002 encompasses vital initiatives for water resource
management. However, their implementation requires
strategic innovations to meet future demands. Modern-
izing information systems, having innovative resource
planning, implementation, and monitoring of strate-
gies, and focused evaluation systems using modern
and advanced techniques supplemented by e cient
governance mechanisms are the way forward. River
basin level water development strategies will require
revisiting policies and politics that aect the use of
water which are sectoral. Te sectoral nature of water
use creates strategy silos such as energy, agriculture,
remote sensing centres, and environment without giv-
ing due consideration to their inter-linkages.
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